Geography and Maps

Topics include:

  • Current maps and information
  • Historical maps

Current maps and information

Google Maps – Which penguin would be the most interesting to write about? Can zoom in on pictures/cruise photos…

Google Street View – Look at the world from street level, walk down a street that a character walked, create a travel guide for a country, pretend you’re talking to a person on this street (in the picture) – What would you say? What would their life be like?

Find Latitude and Longitude – Enter in a location and get the latitude and longitude of the site.

Geographic Resources – Rich online resources created by Smithsonian experts for learning more about our world!

Global Connections – A family of sites created to help teachers and students learn more about events in the Middle East through readings, lesson plans, links, timelines, and maps.

Map Maker – Interactive national map, based on federal government information. Locate sites by GPS, zoom to states, search for a site, and print the maps you find.

Maps: Finding Our Place in the World – Includes a photo gallery, information about the participating institutions, museum researchers who use maps and mapping technology in their own work, and an interactive feature.

USA Label Me! Printouts – Printable US maps and other state things to color and label.


Historical Maps:

Civil War – Website related to the Ken Burns film, including maps, biographies, historical documents, images, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection – A collection of more than 8,800 online historic maps from the 18th and 19th century.

Early Washington Maps: A Digital Collection – Historical maps of Washington state.

Historical Maps – Historical maps of Washington, searchable by time period or type of map.

Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms – Historical maps and lesson plans written for a variety of grade levels.

Mapping the Pacific Coast – Historic Map Collection – Maps of the Pacific Coast from the earliest period of European Exploration, including 45 maps, books, and illustrations organized into 6 thematic galleries.

Rare Maps of Colonial America – A listing of rare maps of Colonial America.